"How would you like to be remembered?" This is a question that we have all thought about, during our lives; I would like to be remembered as a good journalist, others as good doctors, others as lawyers, but how does Andy Murray want to be remembered, now that he has revealed what his last career tennis event will be?
Yesterday, the Scottish champion was honored on the Centre Court of Wimbledon with a special ceremony organized by the tournament board, on the sidelines of his doubles match with his brother Jamie, lost against Australians Rinky Hijikata and John Peers. A moment of strong emotions, during which Andy was also honored with a special video sent by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams. At the post-match press conference, Murray touched on many issues, also answering the fateful question: how do you want to be remembered? and officially confirming Paris Olympics as his last tennis event.
"Before what happened in Miami, I was starting to play good tennis. I got past the first round in Queens. I can still win matches at this level. Even with the physical issues with my hip, I've still been able to compete at the highest level. Not as consistently as I would have liked. Certainly not as successful as I would have liked. But yeah, I can definitely still win matches here or on grass once I recover from my back injury. But I don't want to do that now. I know I could do it, but I don't plan on playing singles again. I've always come to work with the same dedication and passion as the day before. Regardless of the ups and downs that the sport has thrown at me, I've always come to work and had a good day.
I've given it my all. That's what I'm proud of. I guess it's up to other people to decide what my legacy is going to be. That's what I'm most proud of. I find that kind of hard to answer. I don't think it's up to me to say how other people should see me. There are things in my career that I'm really proud of. I haven't done everything right in my career. I was far from perfect. But I did a great job throughout my career, regardless of the ups and downs. Whether it was winning tournaments, suffering tough losses or having an operation," explained Murray, indirectly confirming that the Paris Olympic tournament will be his last tennis event (at least in singles).
The Scot said watching the tribute video with Venus, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic was difficult.
"It was quite emotional. Watching the video was nice but also difficult for me. Because you know it's coming to the end of something you've loved doing for so long. So it's difficult. It's really nice that a lot of the players stayed. I had very close relationships with the British guys, but there were a lot of players in that field that I have enormous respect for. Some of the greatest players in the history of the game. Some of them played matches today. It's really nice that they stayed.
My kids and my family? I didn't know they were coming. When we were waiting in the locker room I saw on TV that they were there with my wife. It was nice. They were only at one other game I played. It was nice that they were able to make it. I think the second kid was struggling. I should call them by name, but I always go by order! Way past bedtime. It was nice that they could come watch," he said.
